Solar Generation Hits New UK Record Of 23.9%

It certainly seems as though solar power is of increasing interest to business and homeowners in the UK, with new figures from the Solar Trade Association (STA) showing that solar generation reached 23.9 per cent in June in terms of electricity demand, a new record for the UK.

It’s thought that the UK now has nearly 12GW of solar PV installed on solar farms, schools, warehouses, offices and homes – enough to power 3.8 million homes. This means that there are just over 800,000 homes with solar PV and a further 200,000 with solar thermal – so the UK currently has more than one million solar homes.

These figures come as the sector celebrates the third Solar Independence Day on July 4th, with people posting photos of their solar PVs using the hashtag #SolarIndependence. The organisation has now launched a new campaign, Raising Standards in Solar PV Operations and Maintenance.

Chair of the STA Operations & Maintenance Working Group Mark Turner said: “With this initiative, we want to raise standards and establish best practice across the UK in solar PV operations and maintenance, making sure people are aware that preventative action can avoid costly corrective action later. Solar PV plants have no moving parts but are power plants like any other, and therefore safety has to be our primary concern.”

This comes as the STA says that business rate taxes for commercial rooftop solar installations will climb by between six and eight times come April 2017 unless the government takes action now.